"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path..." Gautama Buddha

A/N: This story will cover the Gaang throughout high school until graduation. For reference, Aang, Katara, and Sokka are all 16. They are aged up because eventually there will be lemons in the future so PLEASE BE AWARE. We will meet the rest of the Gaang shortly, but wanted to set this up. All canon pairings. Please review as I am still new to writing AU and lemon. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Aang situated himself in his soft bed under the covers. He looked up at the clear, dark sky and began to dream. In his dream he saw his family as a faded memory. His mother, his father, and himself, together laughing in their quiet home in Southern Air Temple City. He saw the lush, green hills and earthy browns of the temple. He remembered mastering airbending at the youngest age ever, 12 years-old. His mind replayed his parents hugging and kissing him when they found out he was the Avatar. One by one, his friends all began to turn away from him, unnerved by the idea of him being a powerful being. He didn't feel normal anymore. The only people who saw him as Aang, and not Avatar Aang, was his guardian, Gyatso, and his parents who died in a car accident a month after being told he was the Avatar. Everything surrounding the announcement of him as the Avatar was marred by tragedy. He had no real friends and now, no parents.

His airbending teacher, Gyatso, adopted him and moved him to Kyoshi High School in the hope that he would gain more friends. He didn't want this life. His dream quickly melted away to nothing. The air from his lungs became trapped and all he saw was black. He remembered what Gyatso told him to do when this panic attack happened and he promptly expelled air from his lungs whilst his belly drew back into himself. He felt stable but still fragmented. He wasn't sure if he would ever feel whole again. Gazing back up into the endless sky, he drew a long breath before unexpectedly falling asleep.

He awoke with a start and a groan as his phone alarm blared near his ear. He placed his hand on his stomach with the hope that this motion would settle the fluttering he felt in his gut. The lithe airbender moved into the lotus position on his bed and began to mediate. Deep inhale, deep exhale. He started to set his intention for the day, "Even though I've never been to a school before, this will be a great day." The Air Nomad culture strongly believed that children should be taught at home with their parents or elders, and not in a formal school with other children. He was aware of the nervousness coursing through his body. Aang was beginning a new chapter of his life. He was a fully realized Avatar but a new student in high school. He was reminded of the burdens that have been placed on him. He never wanted this. He just wanted to be normal. Nothing about his life was normal.

He airbended out of his comfortable covers and began to change into new clothes for the day. Gyatso picked out an orange tshirt with brown pants. Aang shook his head at the row of new clothes bought by his guardian, all different shades of orange. "If it's not broke don't fix it, I guess," he said to himself. He promptly dressed and walked downstairs to be met with Gyatso in the kitchen.

"Hey, sleepyhead! Got some eggs and fruit to get you ready for the day!", Gyatso told Aang cheerily. The young airbender groaned at his guardian, "I don't have time...but thanks. I'll eat it in the car." Wrapping up the breakfast, he waved goodbye to Gyatso and walked out the house to his car. Aang squinted at the brand new white sedan that was uncommon for most kids his age that weren't rich. The United Council of Nations awarded him the car upon mastering all four elements. He sighed when he thought about the irony in giving a monk something flashy and not at all modest. But, he knew he would have to drive for school and when urgent matters unfolded, so he accepted it reluctantly Clumsily holding his book bag and breakfast, he unlocked his car and began to drive to his new high school.

"Sokka, this song is trash, pass me the aux cord!", the blue-eyed teenage girl yelled while driving haphazardly down the road. Her brother became indignant at this statement, "Katara, you wouldn't know good music if it hit you in the ass! And your driving is terrible! Women drivers…" At this statement, she became infuriated with her brother. "I can't believe how sexist you are! The fact that I'm related to you is just...ugh! You are the most chauvinistic, ridiculous-" Katara's rant was interrupted by their car slamming into a brand new white car directly in front of them. "Katara, what did I tell you? You're too emotional! Dad is gonna kill us! And this guy seems rich, ohhh man," Sokka exclaimed. With an exasperated sigh, Katara hesitantly opened her car door without saying a word to her brother.

"I'm so sorry! Please, let me give you my insurance information," Katara pleaded looking directly at the crumpled bumper. As soon as she finished her statement, she heard a hearty, deep chuckle come from the other driver. She looked up to see a handsome and tall boy no older than her. He had shaggy dark brown hair and grey eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and right then she noticed her body freeze in place. In her gaze, she heard a muffled "Don't worry about it" but was not sure if that was real. The kid repeated the phrase and suddenly her eyes met his and she was snapped back to reality. "Oh, are you sure? That does look rather bad! Please, take my information down." They both typed their phone number and name in each other's phones. Upon looking at his contact information he had given her, she blurted out absent-mindely, "Aang? That's an interesting name."

Aang laughed at the blue-eyed girl with a faint blush forming on his cheeks. He felt drawn to her in a way that was new to him. He sensed the tension hanging in the air like a mist. He noticed her brown skin, her sky blue faded t-shirt and blue jeans, which perfectly matched her eyes. His eyes lingered on her long, chocolate brown hair which cascaded down her back. He imagined he was just straight up gawking at this point and cleared his throat. "Yes, my name? It means "peaceful soaring". Not a common name, but I think it's pretty okay." Katara giggled at him and blushed with pink on her cheeks. He knew he wanted to hear that sound again and again.

"I like that name, I think you should keep it," Katara said with a wink. At this moment, Aang's heart raced so fast he swore he was going to die. He's had girls flirt with him, but he usually waved it off because he thought he was destined to be a monk. Now that everything had changed, maybe, he thought, he could open his mind to the possibilities. "Well, I really need to be heading to school. Please let me know if you need anything for the car. I'm truly sorry." Aang felt a pang of sadness at this, but looked at the time on his phone and realized he needed to go as well. "Yeah, I need to go, too. I'll let you know if I need anything, but I hope to see you around," he said with a smile. As Katara opened her car door, she noticed the tall boy continuing to grin at her. "Why are you smiling at me like that?" she asked. Aang startled and cursed the blush forming on his cheeks, "Oh, I was smiling?" Katara sat in the car just as her brother groaned in disgust at hearing the interaction between his sister and a total stranger. "That guy was hitting on you, Katara. Learn to take a hint!" She smiled trying to hide all traces red, hot heat taking over her face. As she turned the car on and drove away, she narrowed her eyes to her brother in the passenger seat, "It was nothing! Let's just focus on getting to school in one piece." She drove the rest of the way to school, but felt like her body was on autopilot. Her mind continued to flash to the hot guy she just crashed her car into. "Oh," she thought, "I need a cold shower."

As the twins pulled into their designated parking space, they exited the car and gasped at the sight of the crumpled bumper previously seen a mere 10 minutes ago. The slender airbender flitted out of the car and waved wildly to the pair of siblings. Sokka rolled his eyes and groaned, "Ugh, that grinning idiot. Katara, look what you did! I don't have time to protect you from a stalker, I have Physics to worry about!" "Sokka, he is not a stalker! He generally seems nice. I don't think he is from around here. We should try to be welcoming. Plus, if he's willing to not make a big deal out of trashing his bumper I am all for it," she chided. Katara waved back and walked towards Aang as Sokka hunched his shoulders, looking as dissatisfied as humanly possible.

"Wow, I didn't know you went here! Some fateful fender bender, huh?", Aang questioned without taking his eyes off of Katara. She felt her body shrink at the intensity of his gaze. "Am I crazy or does he like me? He probably doesn't like me, just trying to make friends in a new city," she thought. Katara pushed herself to stand tall and smiled at Aang with a casual tone, "The world works in mysterious ways! So, is this your first day?" Sokka continued to groan as the trio walked into the school. Aang pulled out his schedule and grinned at Katara. "Yup, first day! Just moved here last week. Any idea where my first class is, it's waterbending mastery?" She was quietly elated that they could continue to be together for a little longer. "You're just in luck mystery man! I'm in your first class and your second class, too," she gasped, "Oh, and you're a waterbender! That's so cool. You can follow me." Aang made a crooked smile at the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. "Okay, okay, I'm bouncing out of this love fest. See ya later, sis," Sokka stated dryly before walking away from them.

"Ignore him. He's pessimistic about everyone he initially meets. He'll warm up," Katara reassured the airbender. "I'm okay with that, he seemed nice," Aang replied without breaking eye contact. She felt the heat emanating off of him but dismissed the feeling as an anomaly. The pair walked down the hall for a few minutes before approaching their first class. "Oh, this is it! I know the teacher, he married my grandmother. He can be stern but he is rather good," Katara warned. Aang smiled at Katara as they walked in and found seats next to each other. "Thank you, Universe," Aang thought. The teacher, Mr. Pakku, began to speak to the class when the noise settled down, "Good morning, everyone! I wanted to start class today with something a little different. By a show of hands, who can describe an Avatar?" Mr. Pakku pointed a smirk in Aang's direction. Aang slumped in his seat with his cheeks aflamed. He wondered why in the 3 months training with Master Pakku, he never mentioned his family. Katara shot her hand into the air and answered after a quick nod from Mr. Pakku, "The Avatar is the bridge between the human world and the spirit world. The Avatar possesses the abilities to bend all four elements and is tasked with maintaining balance in the world." Mr. Pakku smiled and pointed at Aang, "Very good, Katara! That was a great introduction to our new student, Aang Bensen. The Avatar!"

Aang's instinct was to make an air scooter and leave immediately. Every kid in class turned around to face him amongst hushed whispers and statements of "wow". He looked at Katara who was looking back at him with a confused look on her face. "Why didn't you tell me you were the Avatar?", she asked. Turning his face to look away from her, he answered, "Because I never wanted to be." After a few moments, Mr. Pakku convinced Aang to stand and introduce himself to the class. He only looked at Katara who had an expression of hurt mixed with anger on her face. He did a pithy wave to the class and sat back down in his chair. No matter what he did the rest of the class, he couldn't get Katara's attention.

As the bell rang, Katara bolted out of the class trying to avoid her new friend. Aang caught her in the sea of people in the hallway by grabbing her wrist. "Look, I can explain," he pleaded. Her eyes are narrowed intensely, "You better explain fast because we have two minutes and I won't be late." Aang sighed as he walked with her, "Okay, so, I grew up in Southern Air Temple City and when they announced I was the Avatar, all of my friends saw me as different. They didn't want to hang out and didn't want to play games because they thought I had an unfair advantage. I like you and I..was afraid that would change if you knew the truth." As they approached their next class together, Katara's eyes softened. "That does make sense. I'm sorry that happened to you. If it makes you feel better, I barely know you, so my perception of you won't change very much. Just please be honest with me in the future." Aang's heart leapt at this statement and beamed with a wide smile. "I will be honest with you for as long as I'm alive. Avatar's Promise," he said as he held his hand up to make a pledge. Katara giggled as she pulled Aang into their math class, "You're pretty goofy for an Avatar."